Tagged: James Paxton

Tuesday was the club’s first off day of the spring. For the pitchers and catchers, it was the first day off since Feb. 19; first day off since Feb. 25 for the balance of the staff. (Scott Servais and the coaching staff was in a few days before the pitchers).

Nearly everyone took the day off. The exceptions? James Paxton (see below) was the lucky winner of the annual “who is scheduled to throw on the off day” lottery, so he came in. With Paxton pitching in a AAA game, Scott Servais and Mel Stottlemyre were in the house, as well.

James Paxton vs. the Knights

James Paxton was the starting pitcher for the AAA squad today, as Tacoma hosted the White Sox AAA affiliate, the Charlotte Knights. Coincidentally, the Langley Blaze from Langley, BC, were also playing a game on the practice fields today (against Seattle’s Rookie League team). Paxton pitching and a number of Canadian fans around led to a slightly larger than usual crowd on Field #1. Paxton worked 5.0 innings, allowing just a pair of solo homers (it’s fair to say the wind was blowing out). He allowed just 4 hits, walked 1 and struck out 8.

Good Support
An interesting addition to the crowd of Langley Blaze supporters was Robinson Cano who also came in on his off day to support some of the young players in games today.

Mariners Head Athletic Trainer Rick Griffin, pitcher Mark Lowe and Second baseman Robinson Cano meet with kids from the Rainier Vista Boys & Girls Club during the PLAY event.

A group of kids from the Boys & Girls Club got a rare treat on Tuesday – the chance to play on the grass at Safeco Field with Robinson Canó.

The kids from Rainier Vista Boys & Girls Club and Seattle Reviving Baseball in Innercities (RBI) program were invited to take part in the annual PLAY campaign designed to help kids establish healthy exercise and eating habits early in life.

PLAY stands for Promoting a Lifetime of Activity for Youth. It’s a national public awareness campaign sponsored by the Professional Baseball Athletic Trainers Society (PBATS), the Taylor Hooton Foundation and MLB Charities.

Canó was joined by teammates Charlie Furbush, Mark Lowe, James Paxton and Chris Taylor as well as members of the Mariners training staff to deliver a message about the importance of a healthy, active lifestyle, as well as making good decisions about things such as performance enhancing drugs.

Mark Lowe, who was diagnosed with Type I diabetes in his early 20s, told the kids that he didn’t let his medical condition prevent him from achieving his dream of becoming a Major League pitcher. Lowe, who has been managing his condition for the past 10-years, told the kids that they too can overcome obstacles if they stay positive.

The kids also got some good advice about steroids and performance enhancing drugs from Brian Parker of the Taylor Hooten Foundation. Hooton was a high school baseball player in Texas who took steroids to get bigger and stronger. Parker explained to the kids that although steroids can be therapeutic if you are sick, they can also have harmful effects on young, healthy bodies. He said steroids make all your muscles grow bigger, including the heart, which is dangerous. In addition, he said, performance enhancing drugs are illegal and they’re cheating.

After the presentations, the players were joined on field by three members of the Mariners training staff, Rick Griffin, Rob Nodine and Matt Thoth, who led the kids through a series of exercises – stretches and warmups, sprints and agility drills.

Pitcher James Paxton puts kids through their paces during the PLAY event at Safeco Field.

Infielder Chris Taylor leads Boys & Girls Club members through some agility drills at PLAY.

Mariners Head Athletic Trainer Rick Griffin, pitcher Mark Lowe and Second baseman Robinson Cano meet with kids from the Rainier Vista Boys & Girls Club during the PLAY event.

Pitcher Charlie Furbush gets kids moving during the PLAY event at Safeco Field.

Kids from the Seattle RBI program get high fives from Robinson Cano during the PLAY event at Safeco Field.

The New Year is upon us and Pitchers and Catchers report to Peoria, Arizona in a little over the month to kick off the 2015 season. To get you ready for baseball season, ROOT Sports begins its weekly Mariners Mondays show tonight from 7-10 pm (check your local listings).

In the 2014 opener, the Mariners fell behind early on a 2-run home run by Mike Trout in the first inning, but staged a comeback taking a 4-3 lead in the top of the 7th inning. Seattle added 6 runs in the 9th inning to reach double-digits in a season opener for the third time in club history. Felix Hernandez made his 7th career Opening Day start, earning the win to improve to 5-0 with a 1.52 ERA all-time on Opening Day.

Felix Hernandez struck out 11 batters in his Opening Day start vs. the Angels.

In the home opener on April 8, the Mariners improved to 5-2 in the young season with a 5-3 win over the Angels. Rookie southpaw James Paxton earned the win allowing 4 hits and 3 runs in 5.0 innings and designated hitter Corey Hart hit a pair of home runs going 2-for-4 with 4 RBI.

Corey Hart belted a pair of home runs in the 2014 home opener.

The next edition of Mariners Mondays will air next Monday (Jan. 12) from 7-10 pm. The episode will chronicle the Mariners historic three-game sweep of the Boston Red Sox at Fenway Park in late August.

James Paxton’s fielding mitt from the 2014 season is displayed at the Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame.

James Paxton had a fine rookie season with the Mariners, going 6-4 with a 3.04 ERA in 13 starts. In 17 career Major League starts, the left-hander is 9-4 with a 2.66 ERA.

A native of Ladner, British Columbia, Canada, Paxton was asked if he had any items from his rookie season he could donate to the Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame. Following the season, Paxton donated the mitt he used all season to be displayed at the museum in St. Marys, Ontario.

As you can see in the picture above, Paxton’s mitt is placed nicely next to a signed Mariners hat and game-used batting gloves from Mariners outfielder Michael Saunders, who is also a Canadian native from Victoria.

And lastly, BaseballProspects.com published their annual Top 101 prospect list. Taijuan Walker was the highest rated pitching prospect checking in at No. 8 on the list. Third baseman D.J. Peterson (#65) and LHP James Paxton (#68) also made the list.